Nothing Ghost Can Stay
by MegassaTheBomber
Summary: Shukaku no Gaara,the demon that loves only himself. That is what he is. But even he had a true friend once,one much different then he would probably ever know.Gaasaku! Childhood Flamers welcome! Light! PLEASE REVIEW! Weird, 703 hits and no reviews! HMMM?
1. Prolouge

**Hey You! Yeah you! The one that is about to read my story! Hi! I Just wanted to thank you for picking my story! I would also like to ask that when you are done you R&R, but only after you've read the other two chapters! If you love it, tell me! If you hate it, tell me what you don't like and give me some suggestions on what I can work on! All Flamers welcome! This is my first Gaasaku, so Gaara or sakura may be a little OOC! **

He was alone, sitting in his sandbox, the one which no one would dare to come near. He knew why, he was a monster, and they're all frightened by him, even though truly he never did anything that would make him frightening. He was alone. The only time he had close contact to the other kids who played and enjoyed themselves there was that once.

_He was standing in his sandbox, when a large ball rolled towards him. He picked it up as he heard their loud shouts. _

"_Where did it go?"_

"_Where is it?"_

"_Hey l-look!"_

_Gaara held the ball firmly in his grasp as some of the children, who looked to be his age, hesitantly came forward, eyeing him._

"_H-hey can we have our ball back?" one of the small boy's stuttered, stepping a little closer towards him._

"_Sure! Hey can I play with you guys?" Gaara asked hopefully._

_They all started exchanging worried glances and whispering._

"_Uh.. that's okay you can keep it." And with that they all ran off._

_Gaara stood there frozen, watching them all disappear, just over hearing some of they're muttered whispers._

"_man that was close!"_

"_What about my ball?"_

"_You'll never see that ball again, now that the demon has it."_

_Unconsciously Gaara dropped the ball, and it just rolled away._

In the end, they all ran away, scared of him too. It was that same year Gaara was attacked by his uncle, who was trying to kill him, under request of his father. It was that year that he finally became Sabaku no Gaara, the demon who loves himself, and only himself. But He will never forget his first friend.


	2. The Beginning

**Hello all! I'm up with the actual story! I hope you enjoy it!**

He sat there once again on that day, at the same time as everyday. He was piling sand into a random mound, not really foucasing on his surroundings, so much that he didn't hear nor notice the small footsteps creeping their way closer to the spot where he had been sitting.

"Hello."

His head quickly jerked up at the sudden and unexpected sound, only to see a little girl, who looked about his age, perhaps younger by a few monthes. She had bright green eyes, pale skin, and … pink hair. She was wearing a cute black dress, and a large red bow that kept her hair out of her face. A thousand thoughts raced their way through Gaara's head at once.

_Who is she? What is she doing? Doesn't she know who.. or what I am?_

Her expression looked worried, which he had seen way too many times before, except something was different about her's. It didn't show the self concern he had become accustom to, she appeared to be worried about _him._

"Umm… may I come in?" she quietly asked, breaking his trance. He hadn't yet relized he had spaced out. Well she was already standing in _his_ sandbox. What she was referring to was the large, neat circle he had drawn around himself, making it as large as he could fit.

"I-I guess.." was the only reply he could think of, not wanting her to leave him. She carefully stepped over the barrier, looked up at him, and smiled.

He froze.

_Shes smiling at me… shes smiling at me? Why?_

Caught up In his thoughts again, the girls smile quickly melted back into obvious concern.

"Uh.. I don't think it's a very good idea for you to hold your breath like t-that.." she stated, her voice very shaky with what seemed to be nervousness.

He inhaled and exhaled.

"You wanna play a game with me?" she suddenly asked. He nodded enthusiasticly. + 1 smile from her.

"Okay! Then we can play.. uhh… Emergancy, Medicly trained, Proffessional working area!" she exclaimed, seeming to be a lot more happy then earlier. While Gaara was in complete awe.

"Whats that?" he asked, confused.

"It's a fancy phrase meaning Hospital or docter!" she giggled, his confused expression amusing her, as she knelt down beside him.

"Do you have any brusies or scratches or anything?" she asked.

"Um, no I never .. really uh.. get hurt." Gaara stated hesitantly.

The girls eyes went really big.

_Here it comes…_

"Really? Never? At all?" she questioned, looking him over. This was really not what he expected to happen, but what was important to him was that she was still there.

"No, … just sadness I guess."

"Oh… , well I know how to cure that!"

He suddenly felt a pair of cold arms around him, but they still made him feel really warm inside.

_She's hugging me_

_**Then she officially doesn't know, you must tell her.**_

_But... why? If I'll tell her she'll leave!_

_**If you don't tell her it's the same a lying, that is truly a sin, so you must tell her, instead of keeping her as a fake friend.**_

_But… you're right._

He pushed he off with ease. She sat down in front of him, looking confused, and hurt.

"Don't you know who I am?" He strongly questioned in his most scary sounding voice he could make.

She shook her head no.

"I am Gaara! The kazekage's son!" He burst, seething with the anger of telling her. Any second she'd be off running.

But that isn't at all what she did.

She _smiled._

"Cool! I'm Sakura Haruno!" she said with her widest smile yet, her white teeth glistening.

"You're not scared?" Gaara asked, puzzled.

"Nope!"

"Gaara!" he heard a distant voice call.

"That's my uncle, I have to go now." He said regretfully as the pinkettes face fell.

"But you'll come back tomorrow, right?" she asked, almost pleading.

"Umm, yeah!" Her face lit back up.

"Promise? We're friends now, so you have to keep your promises." She said, staring at him intently, extending one of her delecate hands towards him. He had seen his uncle do this on various occations, it was a sign of partnership, comradeship, _friendship_. With that he lifted his own hand to shake hers.

"Gaara!"

Louder it sounded this time. "You'd better go." She said, but he was already running off. "Bye!" he yelled, looking over his shoulder one last time, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Gaara had felt something new that night. Happiness, he knew he had a friend. A true friend, not a fake one. Though this friend was a lot more different then he could ever imagine.


	3. The End

**Part three people! Hope you'll enjoy! I think I'm going to keep this as something to inspire other Gaasaku fans to write using, since I can't think of anything else to expand upon.**

To Gaara, this was perfect. He was happy. The only friend he needed was her. Everyday they met, at the same time, same place. She told him many things he didn't know about the world, even told him a poem she read in a book:

Nature's first green is gold  
her hardest hue to hold.  
Her early leaf's a flower;  
But only so an hour.  
Then leaf subsides to leaf.  
So Eden sank to grief,  
So dawn goes down to day.  
Nothing gold can stay.

When he didn't understand it, she told him that she thinks it means when you're a kid, you're gold, without sin or flaw, but once it fades away and you become an adult you lose that factor. He liked when she sung the poem in a sweet voice.

She was always there before him, wearing her same black dress and red bow, and she always stayed after him, which was normally pretty late,(Okay quick question to anyone who may have the answer, In most of the flashbacks the kids are alone, or without parental supervision, what's up with that? End question) but he didn't care, he enjoyed his time with her too much. It continued for a little over half a year, until that one night, that would end it all.

It was a mostly normal day. They had been playing house together in the sandbox, their sanctuary, and the only place he ever saw her. The adults that would come to the playground that noticed her playing with him would sometimes pull her out and try to convince her to stay away, but she never listened. She would say "I can play with whoever I want to, and what may or may not happen to me is of no concern to you." And they would walk away, still worried sick, whispering to the other adults about her, and questioning where her parents where.

"Gaara, do you believe in ghosts?"

Sakura asked as casually as she could. This question caught Gaara off guard.

_Do I believe in ghosts? What does that mean to her?_

_**Weird girl**_

"No, my uncle says that ghosts are just made up, and don't really exist, and I don't think they do either."

Sakura let out a heavy sigh. Gaara looked up at her, her eyes seemed to be darker then normal.

"Is that so?" she said emotionlessly as she kept her eyes locked on the sand. "I see" Then she abruptly stood up.

"Gaara, I need you to make me another promise." She stated, locking her eye's with his as he stood up as well.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to sound normal. Sakura had never acted like this before, as far as he knew anyways.

"You have to promise me that you'll be my friend no matter what happens, and that you will stay gold." She was being unnormally forward.

"Uh... sure, but what does stay gold mean?" he really had no idea.

"It doesn't matter, so do you promise?" she asked with an urging tone, outstretching her hand to him like the first night. "Okay." She said shaking her hand.

"Okay then I has to go now, bye!" and without giving him a chance to respond she was gone.

_I wonder where she has to go so suddenly._

_**How should we know? I mean what do we really know about her besides the fact that her name is Sakura, and apparently she isn't afraid of us?**_

_Right, she knows all about us because of the stories we've told her, but she's never said anything about herself!_

_**I don't know, but there is something about her that seems off. Weird girl.**_

That night was the one that changed Gaara forever, the one that he was attacked by his uncle, which resulted in him killing him, the night that he, learned about his father's bounty and the truth about his uncle's charade. The night he truly became Shukaku no Gaara, the demon that loves only itself. The last night he was to ever see Sakura again.

Sakura's POV:

As she hovered effortlessly about her large perch, helplessly watching the whole scene unravel, her sadness built up within her. The next day when she went to the playground he never came, though she waited in the sandbox until she saw the sun rise once again in the next morning. "Gaara… you didn't keep your promise… I'm so sorry." She wiped away the newly forming tears rolling down her cheeks, as she slowly faded into the darkness, like a dying note, except in her case, for a second time.


	4. After The End

**Hello my wonderful reading friends! This Is what I belive to be the last chapter of this story, I know I'm so evil ending "The end" so sad, but hey I've been stuck at home for the past 2 days because we got like 3 feet of freaking snow! So I'm not in the best mood. Please R&R, and Flamers are welcome, I need the tough critizesm and Ideas for a new story! I own nothing!**

_Taking place about 10 years later…_

"Kakekage-san, are you even listening to me?" the brown haired woman pouted.

"Hn?" he replyed groggily.

"I said that we found some old files that we need you to just look through, or skim or something because they where overlooked." She repeated, obviously annoyed by his lack of attention.

"How old are they..?" he asked warily. He really didn't care, but maybe it would put her in a better mood, and maybe she'd do the other work on his desk.

"Just about eleven years sir." She said with a sigh.

_At least he's trying to show intrest today._

"Fine just leave them here, and I'll do them now." He stated.

"Thank you sir." She replyed beginning to walk away from he desk.

"Wait." She stopped and turned back to face him.

"I can only do it now if you do all of this… stuff." He looked at her with his puppy dog eyes.

She sighed very deeply.

"Fine." She said with a groan, scooping up the mismatched papers on his desk.

"Thank you." He smiled, but only slightly.

_Being the kazekage is starting to become really tiring._

He thought as he opened up the file and started absent-mindedly looking through the records.

_Hn death records._

As he flipped through the pages one by one, he began to let himself float around in his memories of that time. Then suddenly, it all came back to him, like a bunch of old mixed up and forgotten slides flashing in his minds eye all at once.

"_Hello."_

_His head quickly jerked up at the sudden and unexpected sound, only to see a little girl, who looked about his age, perhaps younger by a few months. She had bright green eyes, pale skin, and … pink hair. She was wearing a cute black dress, and a large red bow that kept her hair out of her face._

"_Umm… may I come in?" she quietly asked, breaking his trance. He hadn't yet relized he had spaced out. Well she was already standing in his sandbox. What she was referring to was the large, neat circle he had drawn around himself, making it as large as he could fit._

"_I-I guess.." was the only reply he could think of, not wanting her to leave him. She carefully stepped over the barrier, looked up at him, and smiled._

_He froze._

_Shes smiling at me… shes smiling at me? Why?_

"_You wanna play a game with me?" she suddenly asked. He nodded enthusiasticly. + 1 smile from her._

"_Do you have any brusies or scratches or anything?" she asked._

"_Um, no I never .. really uh.. get hurt." Gaara stated hesitantly._

_The girls eyes went really big._

_Here it comes…_

"_Really? Never? At all?" she questioned, looking him over. This was really not what he expected to happen, but what was important to him was that she was still there._

"_No, … just sadness I guess."_

"_Oh… , well I know how to cure that!"_

_He suddenly felt a pair of cold arms around him, but they still made him feel really warm inside._

_He pushed he off with ease. She sat down in front of him, looking confused, and hurt._

"_Don't you know who I am?" He strongly questioned in his most scary sounding voice he could make._

_She shook her head no._

"_I am Gaara! The kazekage's son!" He burst, seething with the anger of telling her. Any second she'd be off running._

_But that isn't at all what she did._

_She smiled._

"_Cool! I'm Sakura Haruno!" she said with her widest smile yet, her white teeth glistening._

"_You're not scared?" Gaara asked, puzzled._

"_Nope!"_

"_That's my uncle, I have to go now." He said regretfully as the pinkettes face fell._

"_But you'll come back tomorrow, right?" she asked, almost pleading._

"_Umm, yeah!" Her face lit back up._

"_Promise? We're friends now, so you have to keep your promises." She said, staring at him intently, extending one of her delecate hands towards him. He had seen his uncle do this on various occations, it was a sign of partnership, comradeship, friendship. With that he lifted his own hand to shake hers._

_Nature's first green is gold  
her hardest hue to hold.  
Her early leaf's a flower;  
But only so an hour.  
Then leaf subsides to leaf.  
So Eden sank to grief,  
So dawn goes down to day.  
Nothing gold can stay._

" _I think it means that when you're a kid, you're pure and without sin, but as you get older that fact changes. Like you right now Gaara, you're gold." She said with a warm smile._

"_Gaara, do you believe in ghosts?"_

_Sakura asked as casually as she could. This question caught Gaara off guard. _

"_No, my uncle says that ghosts are just made up, and don't really exist, and I don't think they do either."_

_Sakura let out a heavy sigh. Gaara looked up at her, her eyes seemed to be darker then normal._

"_Is that so?" she said emotionlessly as she kept her eyes locked on the sand. "I see" Then she abruptly stood up._

"_Gaara, I need you to make me another promise." She stated, locking her eye's with his as he stood up as well._

"_What is it?" he asked, trying to sound normal. Sakura had never acted like this before, as far as he knew anyways._

"_You have to promise me that you'll be my friend no matter what happens, and that you will stay gold." She was being unnormally forward._

"_Uh... sure, but what does stay gold mean?" he really had no idea._

"_It doesn't matter, so do you promise?" she asked with an urging tone, outstretching her hand to him like the first night. "Okay." She said shaking her hand._

"_Okay then I has to go now, bye!" and without giving him a chance to respond she was gone. _

End flashbacks

It was then, ten years later, that he finally remembered all those happy memories, that where locked away.

_What a coincidence, it all happened right after these files where made. I guess I have them to thank. I wonder what ever happened too her…_

He froze stiff, the air was caught in his throat. His eyes wide, staring down at the last page in the file.

_**Name: Sakura Haruno**_

_**Age:5**_

_**Casualty:Died of heart attack**_

_**Location of casualty: Suna playground, sandbox.**_

_No way…_

He carefully read every word over and over again. Sweat was rolling down his face. He suddenly had a strange feeling that someone was watching him, so he span around, but to see nothing. He quickly reverted back to the page.

"kazekage-san!" the brunett walked in unannounced, her eyes going wide. She blinked, looked around then room then let out a deep sigh.

"Uhh…Never mind." She said, eyeing her commissioner. Gaara regained his status quickly.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to sound normal.

"Well uh… I was sure I heard giggling coming from up here, so I was coming to tell whoever else was in here that you were to busy and… well maybe I should go home.." she staggered. (cue anime sweatdrop)

"You are dismissed, its been a long day." He announced, trying to get her out of his office as soon as he could.

"Hai." She quickly left.

As soon as his door shut his eyes wanderd down the paper over and over again, trying to make sence of what he was reading. Finally he looked at the attached photo and gasped.

_The picture was of a little girl, who looked about his age at the time, perhaps younger by a few months. She had bright green eyes, pale skin, and… pink hair. She wore a cute black dress, and a large red bow that kept her hair out of her face._

_**Assistant's POV(yeah she's not important enough for a name):**_

Walking down the long stairs she sighed. "I really need a break." She murmerd to herself.

_I wonder why he was so freaked out looking. _She thought, but she quickly shoved the question to the side, there was something else bugging her.

_I know I heard that giggling, and I could've sworn when I first walked in there I saw a little girl standing behind the Kazekage!_

She let out another long sigh.

"I REALLY need a break."

_**Sakura's POV:**_

She stood there behind his desk next to him. She loved watching him work. Suddenly she noticed him spacing out, and started giggling, which turned into an uncontrollable laughter once he started freaking out.

_Whats Gaara-kun getting all exited over? _She wondered as she peered at the paper he was staring at intently.

_**Name: Sakura Haruno**_

_**Age:5**_

_**Casualty:Died of heart attack**_

_**Location of casualty: Suna playground, sandbox.**_

She started giggleing again as she read the large print.

_Its about time someone properly checked that! It's just to bad Gaara is having a heart attack like I did! Hey maybe afterwards we can go play in the sandbox together!_

She as a ghost really craked herself up, but only because she was truly lonely, since Gaara-kun couldn't see her anymore, she had nothing to do. But she didn't regret this, because now he was happy, and stayed gold.

Suddenly the assistant lady rushed in, and stared at sakura, with wide eyes. Unfortuantly for her after the woman blinked she was no longer looking at her.

"Well uh… I was sure I heard giggling coming from up here, so I was coming to tell whoever else was in here that you were to busy and… well maybe I should go home.." she stuttered.

_Poor lady, you really do need a break!_

_**Later…**_

Sakura was walking down from Gaara's office when she noticed someone at the playground, by himself. She smiled to herself as she quietly skipped over to where the boy was sitting in the sandbox. He didn't seem to notice her however.

"Hello. May I come in?"

**Yay its finally finished! This is what I belive to be the last chapter, unless I'm snowed in tomorrow too, then I may feel like adding to it. I would like it if everyone who really either enjoyed this story or hated it to write a review, so I know what to change next time. Flamers loved!(as long as you tell me why) **

**Just to clear something up, like the poem. That was called Nothing gold can stay, and I think It was written by Robert Frost. I got the idea that I put in "the end" chapter from a book I read called the outsiders, (which I recommend)**

**I LOVE YOU ALL!**


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